Police arrest 1,462 cybercrime suspects in Africa, Interpol says
Interpol says its June–August operation across 21 African countries recovered more than $105 million and dismantled 10,909 malicious networks.
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Interpol says its June–August operation across 21 African countries recovered more than $105 million and dismantled 10,909 malicious networks.
Authorities across 21 African countries arrested 1,462 suspected cybercriminals and dismantled 10,909 malicious networks during Operation Serengeti III, according to Interpol’s results reported by BleepingComputer on October 22.
The Interpol-coordinated operation ran from June 29 to August 31 and recovered more than $105 million in funds described as illegal. Investigators identified 65,929 victims and estimated their financial losses at more than $385 million.
Serengeti III followed Operation Serengeti 2.0, which also focused on Africa and ran from June to August 2025.
BleepingComputer’s account of Interpol’s results described the following national investigations. The people arrested were suspects; an arrest is not a finding of guilt.
| Country | People arrested | Reported investigation and action |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 365 | Authorities dismantled two cross-border fraud rings. Those arrested were suspected of links to online investment and pension fraud. |
| Angola | 9 | Authorities seized more than 2,000 mining devices in action against cryptocurrency-mining centres described as illegal. |
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| Nigeria | 1 | The person was suspected of running a phishing and business email compromise operation that collected software login credentials and about 2.1 million email addresses. |
Phishing uses deceptive messages to obtain information such as passwords. Business email compromise involves abusing or impersonating business email accounts to carry out fraud.
Team Cymru and other private cybersecurity firms supplied intelligence on suspicious web domains, internet addresses and command-and-control infrastructure—the systems attackers use to direct malicious activity. BleepingComputer reported that this information helped investigators map criminal networks and identify suspects.
Interpol also said the operation affected malicious mobile lending apps, fraudulent vehicle imports and cryptocurrency investment scams.
The more than $105 million recovered is a law-enforcement recovery figure, not a total for compensation paid to victims. Whether victims will receive any of the recovered funds, and how much, remains unclear.
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